Imperial moth
Eacles imperialis (Drury, 1773)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae
Identification: Females are larger than males. Upperside is yellow with pinkish brown to purple-brown patches, bands, and cell spots, and tiny brown spots scattered overall. Males have larger patches on the forewings than females, except for some subspecies pini males which have reduced purple and are mostly yellow.
Wing Span: 3 1/8 - 6 7/8 inches (8 - 17.4 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge before sunrise and mate after midnight the next day. Females lay eggs at dusk singly or in groups of 2-5 on both surfaces of host plant leaves. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks, and the caterpillars are solitary feeders. Pupation takes place in underground burrows.
Flight: One brood; in the north from June-August, in the south from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Conifers and deciduous trees and shrubs including pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), box elder (Acer negundo), maples (Acer), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Confirmed feeding on Norway spruce (see record 738773). Subspecies pini feeds only on conifers.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous and evergreen forests.
Range: Maine west to eastern Nebraska, south to the Florida Keys and central Texas. Subspecies pini occurs across the northern Great Lakes basin and the northern third of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 2693 verified sightings
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Observation date: Sep 23, 2023
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: Franklin County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Ozark_Bill
Verified date: May 22, 2024
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Observation date: Oct 06, 2023
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: Franklin County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: May 21, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20200807_151049.jpg?itok=A1-qBRes)
Observation date: Aug 07, 2020
Submitted by: hellbaby
Region: Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: May 11, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/moth_1370.jpg?itok=Uvn9RPpq)
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Will County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 04, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20190729_104926.jpg?itok=q2GtFGqZ)
Observation date: Jul 29, 2019
Submitted by: dahlia
Region: Meade County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 13, 2024
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Observation date: Jul 30, 2019
Submitted by: dahlia
Region: Meade County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 13, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/pine_imperial_moth_eacles_imperialis_ssp._pini._lake_colby_july_23_2019.img_3642.jpg?itok=tbUDmFQP)
Observation date: Jul 23, 2019
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 07, 2023
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Observation date: Aug 07, 2023
Submitted by: Dawnsmoth
Region: Alamance County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 11, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/eacles_imperialis_20180913.jpg?itok=Qo7b03kX)
Observation date: Sep 13, 2018
Submitted by: jwileyrains
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 30, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn3345.jpeg?itok=oTOZ4EEz)
Observation date: Oct 13, 2023
Submitted by: Brendavent
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 17, 2023
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Observation date: Sep 15, 2023
Submitted by: jnchandler
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 02, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_1245_11.jpg?itok=xyuujTVL)
Observation date: Sep 04, 2023
Submitted by: altoonamothlady
Region: Lake County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 17, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/image_1626.jpeg?itok=KRoxiixB)
Observation date: Sep 11, 2016
Submitted by: Bratcher5
Region: Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/1507829844176-1875325151.jpg?itok=snUvyzap)
Observation date: Oct 12, 2017
Submitted by: Jill Dew
Region: Kenton County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
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Observation date: Aug 26, 2023
Submitted by: Debarace
Region: Texas, Wood County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 28, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/42213585_10214536704829870_5394302907426275328_n_1.jpg?itok=x-_t29wF)
Observation date: Sep 20, 2018
Submitted by: Midnightangel75
Region: Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 27, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/e9135f7f-2967-49c2-b6d8-bdef0146e764.jpeg?itok=pXDBaRRT)
Observation date: Aug 21, 2023
Submitted by: smileanor
Region: Lewis County, New York, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 21, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/fullsizeoutput_38c0.jpeg?itok=ax9XiCuq)
Observation date: Aug 18, 2023
Submitted by: Sara Beam
Region: Gloucester County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 18, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/imperial_moth_yellow_eacles_imperialis_by_sem_blurred.jpg?itok=35_fFVYa)
Observation date: Sep 08, 2008
Submitted by: Susan McSwain
Region: Nelson County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 05, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/53089167646_b91dfdc3ac_o.jpeg?itok=Qe-x4KUE)
Observation date: Jul 21, 2023
Submitted by: John429
Region: Jackson County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 02, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_5583.jpeg?itok=KScBU0x6)
Observation date: Aug 01, 2023
Submitted by: Denver Priest
Region: Cobb County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 02, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_5360v.jpg?itok=_w05c_2A)
Observation date: Jul 29, 2023
Submitted by: Shane Miller
Region: Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 01, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_88101.jpg?itok=PFPS00xs)
Observation date: Jul 20, 2023
Submitted by: Les in Ohio
Region: Guernsey County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 29, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_9577_2_1.jpg?itok=z9W2pi-q)
Observation date: Jul 24, 2023
Submitted by: JMJaskula
Region: Boone County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 29, 2023
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